The Lightbringer Chronicle
by Inkit
Summary: Evidence of a cybertronian life form pops up on Earth and the Decepticons are rushing to find it first. The quest to track down the life form leads the Autobots and Decepticons to a young woman with strange dreams. I don't own any Transformers content. This is my first Fanfiction and I hope you like it. Rating will go up for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Intro**

_Sitting at the table for breakfast were three people she had never seen before each with a complete breakfast on the plates in front of them. Two pancakes, an egg over easy and three slices of bacon. One of them bantered telling the one straight across from him where to stick it while the other calmly and carefully watched the other berate and make fun of him. All the while she sat wanting the one yelling to shut up. She wanted him to shut up so badly. The third person opens their mouth to speak and the one yelling stops, looks at the third person with a look of indignation, grabs one of his pancakes and throws it at the third person who in turns flies backwards and ungracefully lands on their back with no life in the body. At this she couldn't help declare, "Thou hast kill'd mine body with a pancake!?"_

Brandy awoke to find herself tangled in the thick blankets she snuggled into the night before. The position she was lying in proved to be uncomfortable at best so she unravels her limbs twisted into the blankets all the while wondering how she managed to get into such a predicament. "Guh... stupid...get offa me!" She grunts and after a few successful rolls she finds herself unwound and staring at the window which was thankfully covered with a dark curtain. She noted how bright the sun appeared to be outside and thought to herself how much the sun was going to hurt when she actually steps outside. Not caring to change clothes or take a shower, Brandy opens her door and walks out to her kitchen to find some breakfast.

Recalling the dream, she suddenly felt like having pancakes. Minutes later, the sound of mixing and cooking in the kitchen awoke the rest of the household who in turn required for her to continue making pancakes along with some bacon. They hadn't had bacon in a while. Brandy stops for a second trying to recall if they even had the heavily sought after breakfast meat. After her memory fails her and a few pancake flips later, she goes to the fridge to sate her need to know. "Do we even have bacon?" she mindlessly yammers and the household reassures her that they do indeed have bacon. She searches and successfully finds the package of bacon. A few more minutes pass by and the faint sound of music radiates through the small house. Brandy quirks her brow and turns her head in search of the device the local radio stations regularly abuse. "Where is that coming from?" One of the house mates who was waiting at the table for Brandy to finish cooking looked over, "We got a new radio. Our other one spazzed out and broke so we got a new one." Brandy bobbed her head. "I wonder what could have happened to make it crap out like that." The house mate shrugged and went back to whatever they were doing. Since she was cooking, Brandy decided that everyone would like eggs and she in turn gets some eggs and makes one for each of them. By the time she was finished she stopped and looked at the plates. "No one is in a throwing mood are they?" In reply, "We will be if you don't hand those plates over."

With breakfast over and a day to herself set in front of her, Brandy decides to take a look at the broken radio. With the lack of knowledge to fix the device, she figures she just wants to see if there was a wire loose or if it had any visual implications of being "broken". A while later with the radio cracked open and the search going nowhere, Brandy was more and more convinced that it wasn't going to give her the answers she was looking for. Frustrated, she puts the broken radio in the trash and wanders off in search of the new radio.

Deep in her mind, new things yeilded opportunities and in this case, the opportunities to see how fast the new radio's CD player could skip forward, what color the lights were, how long was the antenna, and could she steal it for night time sleep? Locating the radio wasn't hard. It wasn't a commonly seen radio but she gave a look of disapproval at the tech. "Wait a minute... this is not new!" She ran a short finger over the device noting its aged appearance and a tape player at the front...

Half a world away was a metal titan and his crew on board a ship miles high in the atmosphere. This particular titan stood on the bridge of his ship commanding his officers the way he saw fit. His underlings approached carefully, spoke respectfully, and walked on eggshells as they gave reports of Earthly findings and exploits. They were of course always ecstatic to give him the coordinates of a new energon deposit. Big or small, they were always happy to give their leader such news which often meant the rather hostile entity wouldn't lash out and carelessly destroy a shipmate. After the latest report, Megatron looked to the communications hub commonly housed by Soundwave, who wasn't currently present, and inquired of the decepticon who took his place. "Any word from Soundwave?" The smaller decepticon turns and meekly answers his leader, "We've received transmissions from Soundwave with coordinates of his current position, but nothing regarding the mission objective."

Megatron brings his face forward looking out over the Earth's middle eastern landscape. "Be sure to let me know the moment Soundwave sends his transmission. I anticipate our findings will greatly aid the Decepticon cause."

"Perhaps Soundwave is slacking in his duties, Lord Megatron." The voice came from Megatron's second in command as he approached from behind. Megatron snorts, "You couldn't compare with Soundwave's level of success, Starscream. You on more than one occasion have brought nothing but embarrassment to our cause." He stops and turns to look at Starscream who in turn shrinks back from the towering titan, "Until you bring something of worth to the table, I suggest you remain silent so I don't blast you into the next dimension!" Starscream further shrinks back from Megatron.

As the leader lets up, Starscream rights himself and leaves the bridge to wander to his quarters talking to no one and justifying himself. "All day and all night I put up with this treatment! I oversee all of our lords important projects and yet he feels I don't bring anything to the table!?" He continues to rant, sometimes stopping dramatically giving a show to those passing by. "Perhaps I'll make my own investigation regarding our little project. I can find everything before Soundwave can and present it to Lord Megatron. This will no doubt put him in a rewarding mood." With a grin on his face, the seeker marches off to put his agenda into play.

Back on the bridge, one of the officers report to Megatron that Starscream's signal was heading away from the ship. "Keep tabs on him. I'll kill him when he returns."

The autobot base was rarely a place that bustled with activity. Today wasn't any different from the previous but the amount of activity incurred from the decepticons had Ratchet unmoving from his place at the computer consoles. "I don't understand what they are up to, I don't know if it's a relic they found or if it's is something Cybertronian, autobot or decepticon!" Ratchet huffed to his longtime friend, Optimus. "Easy, Ratchet. They haven't pursued any course of action that would harm humans so there's no need to get so worked up, old friend." Ratchet straightens himself but his face betrayed his concerns. "Optimus, they could have found something that would greatly increase the amount of power in their arsenal. It's bad enough we are sorely outnumbered, but their actions deem this as something that could severely turn the tides against us."

Optimus didn't quite know how to provide any sort of comfort. All he could do was put a reassuring hand on Ratchet's shoulder, "We've lost many comrades but remember that Megatron has made mistakes in the past. He is determined and impulsive and that tends to backfire on him. Not everything is as it seems." Ratched resigned himself to that statement and went back to working on the consoles.

The day continued without any issues. Optimus went over stolen information from the Nemesis database, Ratchet scoured information and continued to hunt the decepticons objective while Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead entertained the humans they guarded everyday. Smokescreen babbled about how he was "destined for greatness" for the millionth time and as things got a bit boring, Wheeljack came rolling in for a brief visit. "Heey Jackie!" Bulkhead approached Wheeljack as he reverted out of his transformed state and pat him as hard as he could on the back. A basic greeting between the two. "Hey Bulk. Thought I'd drop by and see what you all were up to."

It was common knowledge that Ratchet didn't hold Wheeljack in any high regard and snorted whenever he talked about any sort of action that could have revealed anything about their whereabouts or could have gotten him killed. Wheeljack was getting quite annoyed at the older bot, "Hey, oldie, I don't see you out doing any field work. Keep yourself cooped up in here and you'll be better off as scraplet chow with how rusty you'll get." Ratchet turns and eyes the seasoned bot, "I keep myself useful here so I can save your sorry aft when you DO get into trouble. I'm also currently tracking the decepticon activity that has recently picked up in the past day or so." Wheeljack folds his arms, "Better you than me."

_Brandy walked into the saloon tightly bound in a corset and girdle making her way to a table where two men sat playing cards. One was a hostile looking man with oily skin, dark hair and a long mustache taking up a portion of his face. He had one gun on the table but another was stashed away. The second man was clean and presentable with a monocle and top hat, blonde hair_  
_and clean shaven. Brandy huffed and plopped down into a chair at the table the two card players sat. The two men looked at her, then looked at each other as if to ignore Brandy. Feeling like she was unable to breathe, she drew in some air and slowly blew it back out. Some of her brown curls flew away from her face at the breath._

_"It's your move, old friend." The unkempt man regarded the clean one looking for any sign of faltering. The clean man looked back at his opposing player and says nothing. Brandy grows agitated, for she could no longer count how many days they kept playing this game, and how many times the play was repeated over and over again. "Are you two really going to keep doing this!? I'm getting tired of this, this doesn't solve anything! Nothing good will come of this! Stop it, Stop it right now!" At that, the two card players look over at Brandy, her short figure rigid and tired from the restraining clothing, her hands gripping the sides of the chair. One pair of eyes give her a tired and agreeing gaze, the other icy with a look of contempt. Without as much warning, the clean man grabs the gun takes her life away_.

Brandy rolls out of her bed and crashes to the floor. The pain of connecting with the floor brings her back to reality. "Whuh? Wha the hell?" She observed the dark surroundings and grabbed for the alarm clock she usually had set next to her on her bed. 3AM. Sighing, Brandy picks herself up from the floor and goes to settle herself back down into the bed when she realizes she needs some noise. She goes back and finds the new radio, takes it and brings it into her room. With all the fuss earlier about it being an older model the radio was starting to grow on her. She found some old tapes that she liked to listen to, pops open the player to find a tape already in it. "Oh... someone must have been playing this earlier." She takes the tape out and sets it on top of the radio, puts her own music in the player and presses play. "I think this will help me keep the crazy death and destruction dreams to a minimum." She then goes to turn off the light, flops down into the bed and curls up into the blankets for a hopefully less terrifying sleep.

The Nemesis bridge became quite noisy as Soundwave sent them a transmission. It happened again but it came from no device. It was like the signal pulse was created out of thin air. Not only that, the pulse was much more concentrated than the last time.

Ratchet mulled over some readings attained with the help of the virus that he and Wheeljack infested Laserbeak and Soundwave with. They were picking up some vague information, namely location and something about a pulse. At around three in the morning, Ratchet got an idea of what the Decepticons were after.


	2. Chapter 2

The day was bright, sun shiny and happy... you would think. You'd think a nice day would inspire a smile! Brandy's mind wandered as she imagined herself as a model smiling out in the sunlight as the wind whipped her skirt around her small frame and her hair billowed in the breeze... And then reality brings her crashing back down to the ground just like the plane landing at the Elko Regional Airport. Nevada. Brandy once heard that nothing happens out here... at first glance, she bet the rumors were true! The airport wasn't that fantastic to gaze upon, it was smaller than the previous airport she connected flights and all around seemed dusty, dirty. She also felt like she stepped out onto the surface of mars... the soil everywhere had a red appearance. Brandy groaned and silently quoted, "Take me to your leader."

Agent Fowler stood waiting at the entrance of Elko holding a cardboard sign with the name "Brandy" boldly scribbled with sharpie. Fowler had been standing for about fifteen minutes and his mind decided it was going to wander. He couldn't help but imagine what this woman would look like. Her name is Brandy, right? Maybe she's a tall slender and elegent brunette with light brown eyes and luscious lips? Dark skinned to go with that name of hers? As Fowler dreamed up a woman who would fit the name, the real Brandy wandered to the entrance and saw Fowler holding a sign with her name on it. He appeared to be deep in thought and seemed like he was approaching cloud nine. "I wonder what he's thinking about?"

Brandy approached the tall black man with a polite smile. Fowler being lost in thought doesn't notice her at first. She clears her throat a few times, no luck. She waves her hand, still no luck. Finally she just speaks at him. "Excuse me, are you Fowler?" Finally snapping out of his daze, he takes notice of the woman in front of him. "Uh, who might you be?" Brandy lifts a brow, "I'm Brandy... you have my name written on that cardboard so I assume you're Fowler?" Fowler looks her up and down disappointed that reality hadn't granted him a dream babe. Instead of a tall slender brunette with brown eyes and luscious lips, he got a short girl with curly brown hair, glasses, mostly green eyes and kind of chubby. She was far from elegent wearing some loose jeans and a black t-shirt. Shoving his disappointment aside, he holds his hand out, "Yes sorry, I'm agent Fowler and I'll be escorting you to your new place of occupancy. I hope your trip wasn't too bad?" Brandy lifted her bags and Fowler took her heavier suitcase. She was traveling light. "It wasn't bad, I've spent more time on one plane than this whole trip combined." Fowler glanced down at her round face, "Overseas travel?" Brandy glanced up at him with a smirk, "Navy." This delighted Fowler to no end. Another military veteran!

They piled everything into the car and started heading out towards Jasper. A slow and silent ride, Fowler decided to ask a few questions and perhaps break the ice. "So... how long were you in the service?"  
"Five years."  
"Ah? Do anything special? What was your MO?"  
"I didn't do anything special. I was an Operations Specialist."  
Knowing what the job she did was, he keeps pressing so to keep the drive a bit more interesting. "Where were you stationed?"  
"...Japan."  
"Do you miss it?"  
"Yeah I suppose I miss Japan. Great place. Loved the food. Would go back in a heart beat."  
"Did you like the military?"  
"Nope. Hated every minute of it."  
Fowler frowned. He was patriotic and held a lot of pride in the armed forces and he couldn't help but feel there was more to her statement. The conversation ended there and the rest of the drive to Jasper continued in silence.

As the approach to Jasper neared, Brandy couldn't help but ask the question, "Sir, why am I here?" Fowler without giving her a glance answered, "The US government wants you here. After that incident in your home town we feel that anyone who was living in your house or around it needed to be evacuated to a safer place. We're still trying to track down the people responsible for attacking and blowing up your house. The jet that flew over your house is something we've never seen before. We spread you guys out to different locations in case your attacker decides to try again." His tone of voice sounded like he was seriously holding something back and Brandy felt it was only a half truth. She rolls down the window, leans her elbow into the open space and allows the breeze to flow through to distract her from the questions now starting to brew in her mind. "You sound like you rehearsed that one, Agent Fowler." He peers over at her, "You wanted an answer. I gave you one."

A few days pass and Brandy slowly gets into the mundane life of Jasper. Get up, get dressed, find something to do, come back, cook dinner, take shower, go to bed. She may have come from a small town but apparently even a small town is a party compared to this place! Her search for food in her apartment wasn't giving her any desired outcome so she headed out for something fast. To her shock, there was no McDonalds anywhere but when in doubt, head to KO Burger. Heading inside the burger joint, she was quickly greeted, "Welcome to KO Burger, can I take your order?" She observed the kid taking orders and looked at his name tag. "Jack? Nice name. Give me a cheeseburger fry combo. Coke." The food was quickly produced and paid for. The interaction lasted a grand total of 4 minutes.

Walking outside, the warm day was becoming evening and she could tell that it was going to be a cool night. Going straight from the door through the parking lot, Brandy spotted a car that caught her eye.

Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead head out for the daily picking up the children they have grown so fond of. Arcee sped towards KO Burger to pick up Jack and maybe go out for a nice ride. Bumblebee and Raf tend to play games and race toy cars after school and Bulkhead and Miko jammed to Slash Monkey all the way back to the Autobot base. Often times the bots and their companions wouldn't arrive all at the same time. Ratchet was often left to his devices along with Optimus who seemed unable to pry his optics away from the screens displaying vital information.

The fist to arrive back, much to the dismay of Ratchet, was Bulkhead and Miko. They came racing in, music blaring and singing along severely out of tune to whatever it was they were listening to. To Ratchet it sounded like scraplets attacking an entire building. No beat, nothing coherent... nothing. He shudders. "Hey Ratch! Whatcha workin' on? Can I help? What does that mean? Is that a secret code? Are you planning an attack? Can I come?" Agitated, the old autobot glares down at Miko, "I'm working on something very important and it's none of your business. To answer your other questions, No, it means nothing, no no and no!" He turns back to the consoles with Miko giving him the dirtiest look she could conjure. Bulkhead intervened wanting Miko to play some music with him and quickly got the two separated before it turned into a shouting match. Bumblebee arrived with Raf about ten minutes later. Raf being the genius that he is always comes in wielding a computer of some kind. Ratchet didn't mind the kid, he just had a hard time humbling himself to accept the help a mere human boy could give. Soon after that, Arcee returned with Jack who obviously had a good time riding around.

"Hey Ratchet! You look busy like always." Jack took off his helmet and wedged it between his arm and ribcage. Ratchet didn't answer him. Optimus greeted the children briefly, "Forgive us, we are looking into something important." Jack shrugged, "When do you not?" The idea of Optimus watching a television show was unfathomable at best. "This is in regards to an incident on the east coast. We fear the Decepticons are attacking humans." That caught the kids' attention, it was the first they had heard about it. "Decepticons are attacking humans now? Why?" Miko looked a tad excited. Raf and Jack were starting to think she was insane. "Just before that incident, we picked up a massive cybertronian signature pulse from that area and my guess is the Decepticons wanted it. Since our run-ins with Silas and MECH, the Decepticons are more than willing to destroy anything that would give us or anyone going against them an upper hand." Ratchet sighed as he continued, "It was only one signal burst but it was powerful enough for us to see it. We assume the Decepticons knew about this ahead of time and most likely came to the conclusion that humans had gotten their hands on it before they could. To destroy it would keep the playing field even in their eyes."

"So they just go and blow up a residential area? Were people harmed?" Jack folded his arms hoping the conversation would yield a bit more, "There were... some casualties." Ratchets answer didn't bode well with the kids. Even Miko looked somber. The conversation was interrupted by a sudden appearance of agent Fowler. "PRIME!" Optimus moved his massive frame to the man who just came in. "Agent Fowler, what can I do for you?" Fowler crossed his arms, "What's the deal with that attack the other night? Do you have any idea what could be the reason the cons would attack a small residential area like that?" Optimus nodding states what Ratchet had told the others before. "So whatever they were after could be gone?" Fowler puffs a sigh. "I have one of the victims transferred here to Jasper. I need you to keep an eye on her, Optimus." Arcee interjects, "We have our own humans to look after. We don't have time to look out for another kid!" Fowler moves his body to face her and sets his hands on his hips, "This is not a kid we're talkin' bout."

"Why do you need us to keep an eye on this human?" Ratchet asks incredulous that they might actually have to reveal themselves to yet another human. Fowler runs a hand through his black hair, "She could be targeted by cons. This girl was nearest to whatever it was they blew up and she might know something about it. I'm sending all her information to you." Optimus recieves the information and brings up Brandy's file. Her picture appears on the screen and Jack instantly recognized her from earlier. "Oh hey I saw her today. Seemed nice. Was wondering why she didn't have a car."  
_

Wheeljack had decided to roll up into the KO Burger parking lot for a quick stop and gather his thoughts. His communicator quipped and Optimus spoke to him from the other end, "Wheeljack we need your assistance." The fighter answered Optimus enthusiastically hoping it was for a showdown with the cons, "What's up, bossman?"

"We are all under orders to keep on the watch for Decepticons in the area. Also to keep an eye on this young woman." An image of Brandy's sorta smiling face appears and Wheeljack dismisses it. "Optimus, I am a fighter. I don't babysit." Optimus quickly explains the situation. Wheeljack was less than thrilled. "Fine fine I'll keep on the look out."  
_

Brandy spotted the sports car in the parking lot. She walks towards it wondering what kind of car it was. It didn't seem like a common sports car and it had a unique design. She walks around in front of the car to get a good look at the hood and a frontal view. It was fantastic. "Wow where have you been all my life?" Brandy approaches the side of the car, no one inside. She leans forward and looks into the cabin and whistles. It was a sweet set-up.

Wheeljack remained perfectly still as Brandy approached his left side, praising his choice in transformation, giving him more than a quick glance. At that he couldn't help but think to himself, "Hello beautiful."

Brandy sighed resigning to the fact that she'd never own a car like this and decided to head back to her apartment. She ran her hand along the smooth, cool surface of Wheeljack's frame and headed off.  
_

_The crowd was huge. Two knights were begining a joust while their comrades cheered hoping to see some bloodshed. Brandy worked her way to the front of the crowd to see the goings on. One night with blood red armor sat poised above his steed with his large jousting lance prepped and ready. The other end had the black knight poised on top of his own steed getting ready to ride forth with his lance. As they rode forth and the adrenaline was pumping through their veins, the two knights stopped suddenly, got off the horseback and kissed each other passionately. Brandy stood confused but the crowd around her roared in anger and suddenly the knights shattered into thousands of pieces. At that the crowd went wild and cheered madly, for the match was a draw and no one won and yet they all won._

Megatron stood in the medical bay peering over Knockout at Soudwave. "Good doctor, how is our Soundwave faring?" Knockout gave Megatron a quick grin, "Our Soundwave is healing fast. Better than a lot of mechs around here. He should be able to get back to work within the next few megacycles. Knockout the medbay allowing for the Decepticon leader to speak privately with his third in command. "Soundwave, did you manage to get any information on the second pulse?" Soundwave revealed all findings to his leader before the sudden explosion obliterated the house he was investigating.

"So there was no relic or object nearby that could have created that pulse, hm?" Megatron paced for a few nanoclicks. "Damn that Starscream. If he hadn't interfered we'd have what we were looking for." He stopped and peered down at his third in command, "I'll make sure he gets double what he did to you, Soundwave."

Megatron's departure from the medbay left Soundwave with his thoughts. No relic, no device, nothing mechanical and yet that pulse was_ there_. It happened and it was right in front of him. He didn't even see it! He replays the moments before the explosion over and over in his head. The sound of moaning from one of the women living in the house and the sound of her falling out of her berth. The woman bringing him into her messy bedroom, opening up his tape player and removing ravage and then placing an actual music tape in. She said she needed music. But still it didn't add up at all. The only other device that was on was her alarm clock. So that only leaves her. Humans cannot transmit signals. The more he deduced, the more the arrows pointed at her and her alone. There was something about that woman.

Megatron cornered Starscream with the help of some brig guards. "Starscream. You better give me a reason why I shouldn't clip your wings and make you die a horrible death!" Starscream, being the coward that he was searched his mind for a way to escape and elude his masters wrath. "L-lord Megatron... I did it because the humans obviously had the relic... I destroyed it so that we could perhaps... ah... make sure that they couldn't do us any harm with such a power...heh." Megatron towered over the seeker radiating a rage that continued to grow. "If you are strong enough, then perhaps you'll live to see tomorrow." Starscream's joints buckled and he fell down, "No! Lord Megatron my master! I didn't want the humans to have any leverage! Please my master I BEG of you to stay your hand against me!" He wailed, and Megatron continued his course of action. "It's not just about that, Starscream. You almost killed Soundwave in your little rogue adventure. I will give you double what you did to him as per my promise to Soundwave." A sick dread came over Starscream. If he had almost killed Soundwave, then twice the payment given by Megatron was surely death. The seeker could not run, nor could he hide. The towering gladiator put his hands on Starscream and took him to the lower parts of the Nemesis where the patrols could only hear his agonizing cries for mercy.  
_

Soundwave was back at his post doing calculations and scanning for every sort of signal. Every signal produced didn't escape his notice and all relevant decrypted messages went to Megatron. On the side, he was looking up all information about the woman who had carried him into her room the night of Starscreams unfortunate timing. Going through every file of every woman living in the eastern part of the US, he finally finds her and studies the information. He then puts a theory together and calls for Megatron's input. He wouldn't proceed without his lord's approval.

"So you think it has something to do with that woman you encountered?" Megatron smirked and ran a digit over his chin. "Despite the lack of hard proof of this, Soundwave, I know you don't pull junk out of your aft so I'm going to allow you to explore the possibility that this woman could be the source of the pulse. However I'm going to need a bit more to back up your reasonings.. especially if she's still alive." Ah that... he didn't tell the mech that he had saved the woman by transforming and blocking a good bit of explosion. It was more of a precaution that he didn't get pulverized on his end posed as a radio/tape player, she just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Keeping that to himself, he spreads his presence through the web to search for any signs of her whereabouts.

Performing duties were getting easier as Soundwave recovered from his wounds. His plate metal was coming back together, his visor fixed and if he didn't feel as good as he did at that point, he didn't think anything else was going to make him any happier than what he was seeing on his screen. The pulse was happening again. This time it was for a longer duration that the previous two times. He quickly recorded the phenomena, sent the information to Megatron and also inquired of the scientific genius that was Shockwave. Shockwave under Megatron's orders assisted the communications officer with his work.

"As I analyzed the pulse it became clearer that this is not an energy pattern or energy source that we can use." Shockwave's news was rather disappointing to Megatron however Soundwave waited for him to finish talking, "However this pattern is unique. This is more like a signature and not a common pattern." Megatron folded his arms, "Explain."

"This is a signature, Lord Megatron. That means that this is a life form and not just any. With what I've seen and all information you've sent me, humans cannot produce this kind of signature." Megatron listened as Shockwave explained further, "In fact this is similar to those of cybertronian origin." Soundwave digested that small fact. How can that be, she was a human, not a cybertronian! "I'm sorry, Megatron, but I cannot divulge any further. Considering the lack of information, I cannot get any more than what I've told you." Megatron grunted and dismissed his scientist. Soundwave looked at the map of the US and recalled the location of the pulse. Jasper, Nevada. The home to those infuriating children.  
_

Brandy woke up, found something to wear and slapped it on. Went to the fridge and cabinets to find something to munch on but alas, there was nothing. This was getting old. If she kept on going to KO Burger she was going to gain two hundred pounds. She might rival the goodyear blimp one of these days... Resigning herself to the destined fate, she heads out for KO Burger. Walking out of her apartment, she notes the strange and beautiful car she saw in the parking lot. "Oh wow..." Brandy quickly approaches the vehicle and stares at it admiringly, then stops. "Oh someone's gonna think I'm trying to steal their car..." She quickly shuffles away but taking the time to steal a few more glances back at the sports car.

Feeling the hunger start to take over her stomach, she quickens her stride to the burger joint. It was just in sight before a few black blurs catch her attention. "Huh? Is there a race going on?" The speeding black vehicles make their way towards her location and she makes sure she's nowhere near the road. She understood that a car was bigger than she was and two objects consisting of mass could not occupy the same space.

She anticipates the cars to come and pass her by hoping to catch view of the drivers when they suddenly skid and transform into huge giant metal black and purple titans! "Uwah!?" Brandy didn't know what to do. "I'm having another stupid crazy dream aren't I? I'm gonna wake up and bash my face into the end table and all will be good!" She pats her face.  
_

Wheeljack saw them coming and they were coming fast. It seems that Agent Fowlers fears were starting to come true and the cons were coming after Brandy. Knowing that this wasn't necessarily the best place to revert out of his transformation, he speeds in Brandy's direction hoping to reach her before the cons do. They meet her just before he does. "Dammit!" He speeds up and rams the nearest con toppling him over. Wheeljack whips the car door open and shouts for her to get in. Now seriously feeling like she's losing it, Wheeljack urges her to get in. "Get in you idiot, those cons are gonna grab you!"

"Cons!?" She looks up at them.  
"Yeah get in!" He bellowed.  
"Ah mah gah!" She tugs on her hair. To help her make a decision about what she needed to do, the decepticon lackeys whip out the guns and start shooting at wheeljack.  
"Okay okay I'll get in!" Brandy hauls and dives into the talking sports car.


	3. Chapter 3

**(I think I'm moving too fast so I'm going to slow down a bit... I really wanted to get to this point I suppose so now's a good time as any to cool my jets, eh?)**

Brandy dove into the car and landed in both front side seats. Wheeljack took off and slammed the door at the same time with Brandy still trying to get herself completely inside. The slamming door smacks into her feet. "Ow!"

"What!? Did you get hit?" Wheeljack practically yelled the question at her through all the commotion. He didn't necessarily want a wounded human in his alt form much less one that had the potential to bleed everywhere and die on him or in him for that matter. "No... the door slammed my feet.." Brandy had brought her knees to her chest and she rubbed her ankles which took the brunt of the impact. Figuring it would be okay, she just layed there holding her ankles.

Wheeljack continued to dodge the onslaught made by the cons. Weaving back and forth was proved to be no issue, however weaving with a human in his cabin who wasn't strapped in was getting a bit hard to deal with.

"Hey... I need you to sit up and strap in."  
Brandy groans and moves to right herself in the chair. A blast and dodge sent her flying through Wheeljack's insides and settling into the back seat. "Augh! Don't do that!"

"I've got con's on my tail, I need to shake em!"  
"Shake them, not me! Wait why is there no one driving!?" Brandy finally looked to the drivers side seat to see no one working the wheel. It was turning itself in both directions as if aimless. Brandy let out a squeak, "Oh, dammit!" She fights the pain going through her ankles and gets up, moves to the drivers side and goes for the wheel of the car. "Okay... I think I can get get a hold of this..."

Wheeljack feels her hands gripping the steering wheel, "No no no, don't touch that!" Brandy had already put a firm hand on the wheel and went to straighten the it out but Wheeljack wouldn't have it. With every turn the car made, the steering wheel went with the car, and so did she. "Gaaah! Ahhhh! Nyaaah!" She yelped with each turn and squeaked with every bump. "I told you to strap yourself in!" Brandy wasn't about to let the issue drop, "But no one is driving!"

Wheeljack forced the buckle to strap her in so he could perform the task of getting Brandy to safety despite her continuous protests and constant grabbing of the wheel.

"I want you to sit still and stop grabbing the wheel! I need to get you out of here..." He quickly patched himself to Optimus and Ratchet hoping they could send a quick ground bridge to their location.  
"Is this a remote controlled car?" She bit her lip and stared at the dash looking for some kind of remote hook-up even though she had no idea what that would look like. The need to get smart on what was happening was first and foremost in her mind.  
"No I'm not a remote controlled car, I don't need you to grab the wheel, and for the love of primus, will you stay still!?"

Brandy didn't quite know what to do except look through the back window and pray that they never get hit by the pursuing "cons" as the car put it. The fear of her own saftey being in question in said talking car crossed her now reeling mind. "What is going on... wha?"

Wheeljack could see every move the human was making inside his cabin. She sat scared, constantly gnawing on her lower lip and sitting on her own hands as if it were a way to help her get control of the chaos that threatened to destroy them both. A dodge here, another dodge there, a quick turn and the avoiding of obstacles continued to rock both Wheeljack and Brandy.

"Ratchet, can you get that ground bridge, please!?" Wheeljack pleaded to whoever would be controlling the ground bridge and to his relief, a large swirling vortex of green, yellow and white appeared in front of him signaling ground bridge creation. He picked up speed and flew through the vortex with every bit of "umph" he had to offer and once he passed through, he skid to a halt, opened the door and Brandy tumbled out. "Agh!"

Ratchet closed the ground bridge to ensure no decepticons would enter and then turned his massive frame in Wheeljack's direction. "You caused a bit of a ruckus." Wheeljack puffed then let a smirk cross his face, "Nah oldie... them cons stirred up all the fun. It's too bad I couldn't wreck 'em... my passenger was being difficult."

At that they all peered down at the human now stationing herself on the floor of the old missle silo, one hand rubbing her ankles, the other rubbing her head. "I don't think I was being difficult! No one was driving the ca-", She looked up at Wheeljack now back in his true form and Ratchet who both in turn continued to look down at her. "Uhhh..."

Ratchet was the first to speak up after observing her for a few moments, "You're about as tall as Miko but your frame makes me think of Nurse Darby." Brandy looked up at him wondering who the heck he was talking about. Hell, she was still busy trying to put ill fitting puzzle pieces together in her head. She just couldn't tear her eyes away from the two massive individuals that stood before her and her mouth wouldn't work. So she just sat breathing in and out of her mouth.  
_

Things became clear as all things had been explained. The attack on her home, the move to Jasper, the decepticon attack in town, the talking car and finally the secret autobot base. Brandy's wobbly legs became strong enough to climb the ladder where Raf, Miko and Jack normally sat to watch tv and play games. She sat and continued to listen. The question of where her life was heading came up a few times in her mind and she only hoped that it would be okay now that she was hidden away.

Jack and Miko were arguing with each other and Raf was playing around on his computer. Brandy watched them with mild amusement. It'd been a while since she was a kid and she missed the freedoms that came with it. The imagination, the play and the energy that came with being younger and full of life made Brandy jealous of what all three kids had. She puffed a sigh and made her way down from the platform hoping to go for a walk, preferably unaccompanied but she got the feeling that would not be the case. Ratchet approached her with his usual annoyed demeanor asking her where she planned to go.

"I just need to walk. Too much on my mind, I need to do something so I can keep a slimmer of sanity." Brandy rests her hands in the pockets of her jeans and she looks towards the entryway the kids and the other autobots came roaring through a few hours earlier.

"Well it's best you don't go on your own. I don't want you touching anything either." Ratchet sounded as if he had said this over a hundred times.

"Just to let you know, I'm not as young as the kids are. You already have files on me, you know I can keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself." She adjusts her glasses and makes her way to the exit but Ratchet continued with her. "I don't see much of a difference. You look like a young human to me. You don't appear to have that adult air that Nurse Darby has."

Brandy stops and looks up at Ratchet, "How long have you been on earth?"

"At least four million years." Brandy lifts her brows, "And you wouldn't think to actually take a look at humans? If you did, you would understand that just like you cybertronians, not every adult human is going to look as old as they are." She gives him a disappointed look. Ratchet snorts. "I have much more pressing things to deal with than to look at you humans. You're not that appealing to the optic and your size makes walking around the base difficult." He continued on with his complaints. Brandy set her arms into a fold and walked off as he continued to talk to himself.

"Arrogant prick..."

Brandy had been gone a few minutes before the old autobot realized she had walked off. His intolerance for humans was at an all time high, now that he had another female human that wasn't doing what she was asked. He was the epitome of polite! "Brandy! Don't walk off like that!" He shouted after Brandy and went off to catch up with her. "There's a lot of things in here that could get you into trouble!"

Not breaking her stride she peers back at the large being racing to catch up, "If you looked at my file, you'd know I was in the military and I know what can and cannot hurt me." She sang that at him which infuriated the old bot. "There's a lot of Cybertronian artifacts in here! We don't know what it would do if a human were to come in contact with any one of these items." She rolled her eyes, "You said earlier in your little debriefing that all your shit was behind closed doors. I have no interest in them, nor do I care about how powerful they are."

"That's not the point."  
"That is so the point. You're worried that little old me is gonna squeeze her chubby body through some crack in the door and put her hands on an old artifact that could somehow, with my touch, turn on or come to life and probably set the world on fire. Then all of humanity will come swooping down on your little base and blame you for allowing the stupid human to put her hands on something that honestly doesn't belong on this planet in the first place." She paused and turned on her heel facing the autobot. "You need to get that rod out of your aft there buddy or you're going to short circuit."

Ratchet had had enough. It didn't matter what she said, if she was anything like Miko, there would be trouble and he wasn't going to chance anything going wrong. He grabs her firmly yet gentle and marches back to the main area of the base.

"Hey, Hey put me down you giant metal mammoth!"  
"No, I'm going to keep an eye on you."  
"Oh for fucks sake, I told you I only wanted to go for a walk!"  
"I don't trust you."

That last statement stung a bit. Yeah sure they didn't know each other very well and her opinion of cybertronians wasn't that high at this point, but she still had a fair bit of trust placed in all of them because Wheeljack had saved her from the decepticons, and Optimus Prime had sent him out to keep an eye on her. She had trust in the others still because they kept the kids out of trouble every single day which gained her admiration. Ratchet was the only one she was seriously having problems with. She struggled in his grip not yet giving up. She wanted him to know that she did not appreciate being handled in such a way. He came into the main area with Brandy in tow who was kicking, swearing and beating on his digits. It took every bit of his sanity to not break her in his grasp.

Optimus came forward to the two who were facing off with malicious words. "This is not the time for such arguments. Please, Ratchet, set her down."

Ratchet fought the urge to throw her across the room and in turn dropped her from a height of seven feet. She hit the ground on her recovering ankles which in turn sent her reeling again. Optimus looked at Ratchet disapprovingly but he didn't care. In his eyes she was disrespectful to his wishes and vile with her words. He walked back to the consoles to busy himself with work and pushing her out of his mind.

Brandy wobbled her way back up onto her feet and quickly made her way to the ladderwell leading up to the couch where the kids sat and played games. They watched her approach with a hint of disapproval in their faces. Brandy knew they had heard what she said to Ratchet but she wasn't sure if any of them had heard Ratchet at all. With that possibility, things were starting to feel a bit one sided. "Oh I'm gonna hate it here, aren't I?" She rubbed her now swollen purple and blue ankles.  
_

_A loud voice came upon her unmoving, shattered body. "You will help me and I will help you." Her dead gaze tells all about her final moments. A painful shot she took to her abdomen. Her flesh had been cooked and she was bleeding out. Her blood wasn't the usual red but an electric blue. "Help me help you..." The voice was loud and rich. It commanded her very being. All went black and she went to work._

Brandy woke up with her head pounding and her ankles throbbing. She could have swore she felt her heartbeat in the two healing joints. She had the desire to go back to sleep but as her senses came around, she noticed the autobots were frantically moving about the base as if looking for something. "Hunnh?" She lifted her head to peer at the autobots, "S'goin on?"

Ratchet grunted, "It disappeared again!" He slammed his fists into the console, upset. "Easy Ratchet, we need that." Optimus softly reminded his friend. The old bot puffed out a defeated sigh. "That's the fourth time and somehow we lost it... again!" The other autobots looked through every nook and cranny the base had to offer but were unsuccessful in finding the source of the fourth pulse. "I don't understand, Optimus. Nothing is different or new in the base, there's no way that Pulse could have generated in here, much less around it." Arcee couldn't have been more sure with her words.

"Your observation is noted, Arcee. There's only one thing that IS different but I have my doubts about it's validity." Optimus turned his optics to a groggy Brandy. She rubbed her swollen ankles. Ratchet followed his gaze and protested. "There's no way a human is capable of such a feat!" Optimus nodded to his old friend. "That remains to be true. However, she is still the only thing that is different in the base. Also... the last pulse appeared in Jasper just after she arrived and the other pulses happened at her wherabouts. We have to assume that there's something that she's hiding or keeping that can create such a massive reading."

Bulkhead had a great idea, "Well let's search her!" Ratchet with his famous snort and retort, "We will. We have to, she's the only explanation."

Optimus slowly approaches the human fighting sleep. "Brandy, I need to speak with you."


	4. Chapter 4

**(A shorter submission but I hope you guys like it.)**

Soundwave sat at his communications hub scouring primitive human technology for any sign of autobot signals, or for any notice regarding the complex cybertronian signals that the autobots would produce. Soundwave prided himself on not showing emotion or any type of body language that would betray his true feelings on any matter. He knew himself to be one who would blackmail anyone who would go against Lord Megatron to reinforce his position and insure loyalty, however this project regarding recent events was starting to wear him out. Not only was he on top of communications, he was working with Shockwave to further the pulse investigation.

Soundwave was always convinced that Shockwave was an absolute bastard. On top of that, he was a bastard that was always more than willing to cross lines to get what he wanted. Working with him always tried Soundwaves patience and even that was wearing thin. He made sure not to show any fatigue on the matter in case someone was watching, especially Megatron. He didn't want to appear weak.

A comm interrupted Soundwaves usual steady stream of work. Being interrupted always pinched a nerve in Soundwave. He coolly moved his hand over the console and linked up with the incoming call.

"I have to say this is rather unique." It was Shockwave, how wonderful.

"..." Soundwave remained silent so he would get to the point. "Don't tell me you honestly don't recognize this." Shockwave almost sound thrilled at the fact that he knew something Soundwave didn't. Soundwave remained perfectly still yet questioning Shockwaves findings. What could he have possibly got out of a pulse that didn't last longer than a few seconds?

"She's out there." Shockwave's voice indicated a sense of delight in his discovery. Soundwave twitched barely trying to figure how many "she's" he actually knew. He had encountered femme bots before, but none of them had really been of any use to him in the past and of course he knew of a few humans but he despised them and wouldn't take the time to even get to know them. He'd rather shoot the vermin before contact could be made.

Soundwave requested Shockwave's information so he could take a closer look at it. Shockwave normally would have said no and to go through Megatron to get such information but the elated feeling he had momentarily allowed for the information exchange. Soundwave looked at his findings and still sat unknowing at what Shockwave was so happy about. "Remember I told you that this was a signature. She's very much alive and she is waiting for someone to find her. Yes yes you should recognize who it is." Shockwave in his elation wasn't revealing who our mystery signature belonged to. "I will leave you with that, Soundwave. You'll know it when you see it." Shockwave broke the link connection and Soundwave mechanically moved his hand over the system to resume his previous task.

While he monitored communications, he took the time to go over the pulse again and instead of looking at it as a pulse, he tried seeing it as something different. Shockwave said it was a signature. Each cybertronian had a unique signature and there were many Decepticons as well as Autobots scattered about the galaxy who were waiting to be found. He could think of a few that might have wound up on earth bur sensors would have picked up their presence a long time ago. He debated the issue all the way through the end of his shift. He also made sure to inform  
Megatron of Shockwave's findings before he left. He always kept his master in on anything that came up.

"So as he said before, this is a cybertronian signature. I wonder who he is referring to when he says we know who it is." Soundwave stood silent as he finished his report to his lord. "You may go, Soundwave. Recharge on the matter. Perhaps you'll be successful in revealing what Shockwave discovered. I'm hoping it's a pleasant surprise when you figure it out." Soundwave turned on his heel to make his way off the bridge. He didn't understand why Megatron didn't just demand Shockwave to tell him who the signature belonged to and be done with it. He settled with the idea that  
Megatron knew who it was and the joke was all on him... Perhaps he had lost interest and didn't care anymore. It was always a possibility.

He stoicly walked past the guards and patrols that wander through the belly of the Nemesis, made his way past the insecticons that infested the rest of the ship and made his way to his quarters. His entrance into the medium sized quarters was accompanied by the approach of two companions who often accompanied him on missions. Ravage and Laserbeak swooped in on his position and pounced on him. Their loving welcome was always something Soundwave secretly enjoyed every time he came home. He peered further into his chambers and inquired of the other two of his  
companions, Ratbat and Rumble. Ravage looked to her master with an unknowing gaze and Laserbeak sqwawked giving Soundwave her answer as well. Neither of them knew where the other two had wandered off to. It was his luck the two would be off causing some kind of mischief, and as much as that would have been incentive to go find them, the turmoil they would create wasn't first and foremost in his mind.

He got up and wandered to an interface unit connecting Soundwave to Iacon libraries and files as well as recorded histories of most cybertronians who have existed in the last four millenia. He hoped that there would also be specifics he could use to aid his search. Considering the war time files, the need to know who was fighting and who they were fighting had become paramount and the idea to file each life signature was impressively handy. Soundwave could identify every Decepticon in the ship just by their life signatures alone and the possibility that the pulse mimicked a cybertronian life signature was increasing the more he thought about it.

Narrowing his search helped due to the obviousness of the pulse. It was vibrant and irregular indicating her uniqueness to the cybertronian world. HER uniquness. Soundwave stopped everything he was doing and typed in a name that he wanted to forget yet his mind wouldn't let. e. The match came to his screen in fanfare flashing red and green at his visor. Whipdance... she was one of the few femmes with the potential to create havoc given she had joined a side, but her nature kept her from doing such. She radiated energy. One would even say her presence was electrifying... But she was alive, how in Primus was this possible? He recorded everything and knew exactly what happened to Whipdance. She had tried to put herself in the middle of a confrontation between Megatron and Zeta Prime to make peaceful negotiation and she was destroyed for her act. Soundwave himself was there to witness the deed and recorded every moment. A single sliver of his being was actually happy to see her unable to get in the way but the rest of him protested that feeling.

Soundwave patched through to the bridge to inform Megatron. Since he often chose not to talk, Soundwave sent the recording of Whipdance's last moments on Cybertron which stilled Megatron. "How is that even possible? She was clearly destroyed in the conflict! Zeta Prime made sure of that." The event that occured became fresh in his mind as he spat the last part of that sentence out. If anyone wanted peace more than Autobots, it was Whipdance. Sure he wanted to rule, but he recalled many occasions where she brought up how both sides would benefit if they worked together. She was often sidelined because of the moral differences between the leaders and extremists. Autobots and Decepticons just could not work together.

_His eyes observed the recording that Soundwave had put on repeat. Few Decepticons knew of that encounter and for the rest of them this was the first time they had seen it._

_Zeta Prime and Megatron stood facing each other bantering about who would obviously win this battle. Each had an army but one was much bigger than the other. The Decepticon cause had many to back it's motive, however the Autobot rebellion wasn't something to sneeze at._

_"We won't back down from you, Megatron. You represent everything that is opposite of what we have worked for and built over all these millenia! You threaten our very existence with your tyranny and you must be stopped right here!" Zeta Prime's voice boomed through the open expanse that was the scene of the up and coming battle._

_"You are corrupt, Zeta Prime! This is why the Decepticons were formed in the first place, to get rid of the likes of you and the others that follow the same road you travel! When I am ruler of this world, I will make sure you and your corrupt conglomerates are wiped from the face of Cybertron!" Megatron whipped his hand around dramatically and readied his weapon for battle._

_Zeta Prime pointed a large digit at Megatron, "You are the one corrupting our home with your poisonous words, Megatron! You have nothing to offer them except an undesirable world of empirical tyranny and no hope for individuality! They will have a world of one color... your color and they will regret having followed you." He wanted those words to sting not just Megatron but his followers. Some in his ranks even shifted in their spots now feeling unsure of their chosen path. Some of the Autobots chided in with a "Hell yeah and Here here!"_

_Megatron wasn't so moved by his words and remained in his place with his weapon ready to fire. "Corrupt? I speak the truth about matters you Primes don't care to share with the rest of your brothers! If you had the ball bearings to remove the corruptness from the senate then we wouldn't be here, no? This war would not have started if your kind had bothered to give us a reason to trust you. You STILL have not removed them, nor do you intend to so you can keep their favor and save your own ass." It was the Autobot's turn to shift in their places. Some stood defiant and indifferent to his words but some of the more compassionate ones were starting to question Zeta. "This war has taken many of our brothers away from us, and just like war, if we lose this war, which I intend NOT to do, then you continue to kill us all with the slow death of governmental collapse! I offer those who follow me a chance to regain control of their lives under my rule which will never be corrupt! I remain TRUE to my comrades!" Megatron pressed._

_Zeta shook his helm and he quaked with anger, "You speak of things you are not informed of, Megatron! You make brash assumptions and you are quick to cause a commotion over the slightest indifference. That's what all your world has to look forward to, quick removal of the one who thinks and speaks differently from you, Megatron." Zeta hissed to the opposition. "NO ONE is perfect, Megatron, not even you. The promise of power can be overwhelming and is quick to corrupt the open minds of those who wish for change. They want change their way and if something were to get in the way then they would do anything in their power to get what they want! You have no system of checks and balances, Megatron and it will be your undoing! Someone in your ranks is going to want your position and you have no real way of stopping it! I'd rather have a world where there is obvious corruption and let it be snuffed out then to have a overpowering force take over with no way of reinforcing it's complete rule!" Zeta squinted at Megatron. His anger had peaked and he was ready to shed some energon. The combatants on both sides were shuffling ready to get started._

_Megatron decided to address every combatant on the field, Autobot and Decepticon, "Remain true to your feelings brothers. We shed energon today for our beleifs. May you die well in battle or run scared to save your hides from the victor of this battle." Megatron was rallying his troops when a small voice could be heard. He knew that voice and she was pleading for all of them._

_"Please stop! Stop it, don't do this!" Whipdance in all her silver glory ran up between the two leaders. She was a lone wolf in her quest for peace. She looked haggard and worn down, upset and desperate. "Why another fight? Haven't we seen enough destruction? Where will this get us?"_

_Megatron lowered his weapon and regarded Whipdance, "My dear. We've been over this countless times." Zeta looked down at Whipdance's small frame and frowned deeply, "How many times are you going to interfere with our fight? We want peace just as much as you do and we'll do what we can to obtain it!"_

_"So you'd continue to destroy the bodies of those who have the power to remake this world? One day there's not going to be anyone left! You'll force Primus' hand... he'll have to create new life because you fools can't seem to get it together!" She spat at both sides. Megatron didn't like being called a fool, even by a close friend such as she. He did think of all the consequences of the battles on Cybertron and how it has done all but bring life back into the world. Zeta did think of all she was saying but he wasn't willing to give the Decepticons the benefit of the doubt. He'd win this war at all costs._

_"You are in no position to talk down at us, femme." Zeta's words dripped with poison. "I am in the perfect place to tell you how things will be, Zeta." She faced him. She was comparatively small to both leaders, only coming up to their chest plates, her normally brightly polished silver and white armor dulled with hardship. "I am not fighting either side... What you see here is the outcome of all that you both have done. There's nothing left. This is a no win battle, Zeta. Whoever comes out on top has to deal with even further destruction of our home and restoration comes at a price! All who will be lost will be hands you don't have to help bring this world back to life." She looked over the many faces that were ready to do battle. She hoped to appeal to those who were compassionate and willing to listen. Both sides had an abundance of good sparks. "Each side has something to give and it would work well, don't throw your lives away!"_

_"We are not so swayed by your compassionate words, my dear. Our differences are too great and most of them aren't willing to listen." Megatron boomed to Whipdance. She turned and looked at her long time friend with a look of deep hurt. He cut her with his words. Some of the autobots actually protested, "We would listen! We want this war to be over! This is not what I wanted! I lost my brother! I want to go home!" Whipdance continued to look at him with her bright eyes blazing. The words of the hopefuls within the autobot ranks gave her a small glimmer of hope and it showed. Her eyes glowed brighter with renewed vigor. "The question is, Megatron... and you Zeta", she looked back at the powerful bot, "Are you willing to listen?"_

_"You insinuate that we are deaf to our comrades!?" Zeta was mad. Every time she spoke it just made him even more infuriated. The ranks were all now starting to chime in with their small voices, hoping to be heard, "Hell no you don't! Where were you when...? I needed help!" The obviousness of what was happening was becoming very apparent on both sides. A small coming to terms was beginning to happen and it scared Zeta. All he could see was the deception and the looming overthrow of all he personally supported._

_"You will not sway us!" Zeta powered up his cannon and fired at Whipdance who was quick to dodge the attack. She didn't expect him to fire again and her current condition didn't allow her to move as fast as she wanted. He fired again with a direct hit at her chestplate. The overpowering blast blew her apart and she shattered, her digits flying in all directions, her continuity failing and her spark chamber no longer existing. She was gone._

_Megatron yelled in anguish as did a lot of Decepticons and they all flew forward with their guns blazing._

A long exasperated sigh left Megatron and a few mumbles left the lips of the decepticons who saw the recording. It was hard to watch that battle. Something great could have come out of it if she were still alive. He knew she had the ability to help him in the restoration of their homeworld but all was lost when Zeta blew her away. But wait, Shockwave and Soundwave both discovered that she's alive on this world?

"Soundwave, where was the last location of Whipdance's life signature?" Soundwave indicated the last known source of the pulse was in Jasper, Nevada. Megatron grunted. Jasper was turning into a place he really didn't like.

"Make a new heading for Nevada."


	5. Chapter 5

Brandy sat up on the couch that she had been sleeping on. It was the only place in the main area of the base that she could even get some kind of comfort with Ratchet insisting he keep her in his view at all times. The Autobots observed the groggy human. Her ankles were both swollen and stiff, hair was out of place and she looked like she'd seen apparitions. She reached for her glasses that she set aside on top of the small gaming system the kids often used. "Ugh, what is it Optimus, how can I help you?"

Optimus wasn't sure of how he was going to ask her what he wanted to ask. It seemed ludicrous. "Brandy, do you have anything on you that could transmit a signal?"

She lowered a brow, "I don't like to wear jewelry or anything like that. The only thing I wear are my glasses but I don't think they've been tampered with." Brandy took her glasses off to get a look at them.

"May we have a look at the spectacles?" Optimus asked. She bobbed her head and handed the thick, black rimmed glasses to him. He carefully took it and scanned it with his own sensors and frowned inwardly as nothing unusual was picked up. "The spectacles do not appear to be altered." He handed the much needed aid to Brandy and she quickly put them back on her face.

"May I ask what is going on?" Brandy looked the bots over. Arcee let her in on the happenings. "Whatever made that pulse had to come from you. Nothing in here has changed and we know nothing in this base besides those that are programmed to transmit didn't create that signal. You're the only thing that is different here." She was quite blunt.

"So you're saying that I am creating some kind of transmission?" Brandy's face contorted as she tried to believe that. "I don't see how that's possible."

"Neither do we." Ratchet chimed in. "But what Arcee said was true, nothing else in this base would transmit unless one of us activated it."

Brandy knew she didn't do anything wrong but deep down she felt like she was in trouble or being blamed for something. The feeling twisted her insides. "S-so you think it's me that's transmitting...?"

"Or something inside of you." Ratchet interjected. "I think it'd be wise to submit to a scan. The more you transmit, the more the Decepticons can track you. You also never know what people like MECH would cook up if they got a hold of you", he added.

As far as she knew, she didn't want MECH to get a hold of her. They had the power to take apart cybertronians and turn them into walking remote controlled zombies. They even managed to make  
a working human/cybertronian symbiote. Her overactive imagination created a walking impression of such a thing and it terrified her.

"Okay I'll do the scan. This isn't gonna hurt, is it?" Brandy was not one for pain. She could handle it but she honestly didn't want to deal with it.

"No the scan shouldn't hurt you one bit." Ratchet eased her fear. She sighed with relief and got up from the couch. Her ankles were still pretty stiff from earlier and she could barely move her feet. She hobblewobbled over to the stairs and started down but she was stopped by Bumblebee. He quipped at her and gently picked her up, then set her down on the painted concrete floor. She thanked him and headed towards Ratchet believing him to be the one doing the scan on her.

"I'll need you to step into the medical bay there and lay down on the table. I can scan you thoroughly there." Ratchet said while working the computers, getting them ready for the task at hand. Brandy pursed her lips and made her way to the bay. She got to the table and looked up. There was no way in hell she was going to reach that on her own. "I'm going to need help getting up there."

"Bumblebee, can you get her up on the table?" Ratchet asked without turning his head or regarding anyone except the computers in front of him. Bumblebee beeped a few times and made his way to Brandy. He held his servo out and she sat in his palm, steadying herself by holding onto his thumb. He gently deposited her on the top of the platform meant for a much larger individual than herself.

"Thanks Bumblebee." She smiled at the smaller Autobot and he gave her a thumbs up. She found herself growing fond of the yellow and black bot. He was a friendly and motivated individual who radiated vigor. She felt he could sometimes restore her own energy just by being near. It caused a joy and it made her refreshed and happy.

"All right, Brandy, I want to take two scans, one with you standing up, and the other laying down." Ratchet informed. Brandy nodded and asked which one he'd like to perform first and he insisted the standing scan should come first.

'Good', she thought. 'This metal platform is cold, I'm not looking forward to laying down on it.'

She stood perfectly still as Ratchet scanned her short body. She took the time to assess how she felt. She didn't know what time it was but she was willing to bet it was very early in the morning. Running a hand through her hair indicated she needed a shower, her stomach was okay at the moment and she felt no need to go to the bathroom. The only thing that bothered her was her ankles. She didn't recall a time when she had sprained both ankles at the same time, then again, this time it wasn't her fault.

"Okay the standing scan is done, I want you to lay down now." Ratchet interrupted her thoughts. She looked down at the cold metallic surface and silently groaned. "Ookay... here we go." She bent over and sat down heavily on her butt and a small grunt escaped her throat. "Agh that's cold. I can feel that through my jeans." Brandy continued to lay back the whole way resting her arms at her sides and keeping her legs straight out. Yep, it was cold. She noticed that the bay itself could chill meat like a refrigerator. Her teeth chattered. Being honest with herself, she was terrified  
about what Ratchet and Optimus would find. Was she really carrying something inside her body? Did someone put it there? Her mind raced through made up scenarios that could have caused this dilemma.

A few minutes pass as the scan continued. She peered down through the windows to look at what was going on. Arcee and Bulkhead were nowhere to be found, Ratchet and Optimus were looking at the computer screens and Bumblebee stood silently watching both the screens and Brandy herself. He noticed her looking and gave her an energetic thumbs up. She smiled back at him.

"The scans are picking up nothing, Optimus." Ratchet announced to his comrade. Optimus moved to look at the scan and verified that there was nothing wrong or hidden within the human.

"Could we be missing something?" Ratchet questioned Optimus. He often found that the leader had ideas he wouldn't have even begun to dream up.

"The only thing I can think of is she was asleep when the signal was created." Optimus observed recalling the moment the alarms went off in the old missle silo. "It's possible that her subconscious is creating the pulse. If we can get her to go back to sleep and monitor there, we might find some answers."

Ratchet agreed with his leader and went off to tell Brandy what needed to be done.

As Ratchet went into the bay, he folded his arms and leaned over Brandy taking a good look at her. "We need you to stay in here tonight."

"Why?" Her eyes scoured the old bots frame. It looked like it carried a good bit of wear and tear. "Optimus and I agree that the signal was created during your recharge cycle and your subconsciousness is to blame. We want to be sure this is the case so we can get to the bottom of all this." Brandy moved her eyes to look the old bot in the eye, "Dude, you realize it's colder than Canada in here, right?" Ratchet didn't seem to catch the drift, "So?"

Brandy sat up and wrapped her arms around her torso, "It's cold in here. A little fleshy person, like myself, has a very hard time sleeping in a freezer." She couldn't express herself any more than what she was doing now, curling up into a human ball to retain whatever warmth she still had left.

Ratchet rolled his eyes, "This environment is ideal for recharging, you're just being picky, human." Brandy felt a wave of irritation flow through her body and peered up for the third or fourth time at the giant. "I am not a 'row-baht'." Ratchet glared down at Brandy and she reciprocated. She didn't forget the argument they had earlier and it was her chance to sting him a little.

"You need to watch your tongue, you pathetic human." he spat. Ratchet's distaste for humans was starting to show.

"If I had respect for you, then I would, you over sized arrogant oaf." Brandy shot back. She was doing her best to match his words.

"I don't need your respect, human. Here in this base I have a level of authority and you need to do what I say!" Ratchet assumed a heightened stance and gazed down at her, begging for her to challenge if she dared. She did.

"Fat chance. Good thing you aren't the leader over all the autobots... your operation here would be doomed." She wrinkled her nose, "I can imagine people don't pay much attention to you with how much you spout that crap." A smirk crossed her lips, "I will do what you say if you give me a damned blanket." To make her point even more clear, she pulled her arms through her shirt and settled them on the inside. The cold was making her whole body tremble.

Ratchet's optic twitched. Being the bigger man, he stepped out of the bay and was greeted with a disapproving Optimus. "You need to tame that temper of yours, Ratchet." Optimus rumbled.

"She's just like Miko! Hard to deal with and needs to be put in her place, constantly!" Ratchet raged. He placed a servo on his helm and shook his it. He heard a small voice shout back at him from the bay, "did you just say what I THINK you said?" The two mechs turned and saw Brandy standing up in a fit of rage, "Get back here you ancient assed old mother fucker!" Optimus decided to separate the two by closing the bay door.

"That's the wrong kind of thinking, Ratchet." Optimus tapped a few buttons.

"Why do you say that, Optimus?" Ratchet regarded his leader. In his anger with the human, she'd proven that all females of the species was the same, hot tempered, carefree and their words stung the spark.

"You see her as a child." Optimus said simply. "But you must remember that human lifespans are significantly shorter than ours. She is not a child, but a woman. One who has endured her own hardships and dealt with them. The world we inhabit now sees her as a grown individual and you need to remember that." Optimus hoped his words put things into perspective for Ratchet. "She's not a soldier like we are so she doesn't respond to our authority the way you want her to." Optimus continued, "She's spent time in her human military, explored parts of her home world far from her  
place of origin and with her experiences has become the woman we see in front of us." They both looked at Brandy through the bay windows. She was dancing and running in place trying to keep herself warm. It took the majesty out of Optimus' words and they both let out a laugh.

"I still don't know how to deal with her, Optimus." Ratchet sighed. Optimus stood and thought for a moment. "Just keep in mind how you were when you were a much younger person. I think that will help you in the long run."

"What about her?" Ratchet jutted his thumb towards the human now doing jumping jacks in the medical bay.

"I will speak with her to help alleviate her temper. She's... fiesty." The leader tapped a few more buttons. Ratchet nodded, "I don't know if you've gotten it yet but... I think fiesty is not quite the word we are looking for."  
_

It took a few hours but Brandy finally settled down. Bumblebee took the time to find an old linen sheet for her to cover up with so she could try and get some sleep.

"Ah! Bumblebee, thank you!" Brandy gratefully takes the linen and wraps herself a couple of times in it. Bumblebee thought he'd help her out by wrapping her further and she wound up as a human burrito. It was all fun and games and they both enjoyed the small bit of fun.

"I bet you and Rafael do things like this all the time, eh?" Brandy layed down and regarded the autobot. He chattered at her, though she didn't understand him. "You two must have relationship to be envied. I haven't seen my best friend in years."

Bumblebee being the softie that he was decided he was going to sit by the examination table until Brandy fell asleep. The idea of not seeing a friend in a long time made his heart sink so he did his best to make sure she knew that there was a friend nearby. They talked and chattered and quipped, even beeped at each other. Brandy loved mimicking him seeing if she could make deciferable words without really moving her mouth. He made her feel like a kid again and she hardly had a second when she didn't smile. They kept on going until Brandy finally dozed off and Bumblebee felt he didn't need to sit by the examination table any longer.

He exited the bay and wandered over to Ratchets side seeing if there was anything he could do besides watch and hope something happened.

"No Bumblebee, I don't need you to do anything right now. Just keep your own sensors ready if we manage to pick anything up or the pulse causes some kind of havoc on the equipment. Human technology is a frail work." Ratchet sent Bumblebee away. He watched him go wondering how he could make Brandy smile so much. He determined that she was much more pleasant when interacting in a less hostile way.

"Bumblebee, wait. I need to ask you something." Ratchet called him back. The small yellow and black autobot made his way back to the medic wondering what he could possibly need to know?

"It's about Brandy. How are you able to get along with her so well?" Bumblebee chattered [When I first talked to her earlier, she was scared and intimidated... I made it known that I wasn't going to hurt her in any way and that I would be nearby if she needed anything.] Ratchet snorked, "She could barely understand you, Bee." The small autobot bobbed his head in agreement. [I still made it known. I don't look threatening and I acted upon how I look. She also picks up hand gestures very well.]

Ratchet let a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "I suppose I should take a lesson from you, Bee... All I've done with Brandy is fight with her the whole time she's been here..." he trailed off wondering how he could rectify the bad chemistry between he and the human. Bee quipped again. [I didn't assert myself as someone ranking over her. I put myself at her level so she would have no trouble opening up.] Ratchet placed his servos on his hips and scoffed, "Of course that had to be the reason. She's an independant and doesn't rely on anyone." Bee nodded. [I feel that way when you shove rank onto me. Makes it hard to get to know anyone without feeling like you're overstepping boundaries.]

Ratchet went to speak but the sensors and alarms went off indicating a signal being transmitted. Optimus came into the main area and rushed to the computer to get readings and compare data with Ratchet. Bumblebee kept his eyes on Brandy not wanting to miss anything.

_"Master... I feel tired." Brandy spoke. She observed her surroundings and found she was on an expanse of nothingness. "You're tired because it's time for you to move on." A loud deep and rich voice boomed across the expanse. It penetrated her very being and she felt his thoughts and his feelings. It flowed past her like the wind and it smelled sweet. "Move on to what? I've been moving a lot lately." A chuckle graced her ears, "You've been asleep for many years. It's time for you to move on and wake up." Brandy was confused. "I haven't been asleep. I've been doing what you asked." The wind lost it's sweet scent and instead smelled of the sea. "Yes, you have... but there's more to it than than that. When you wake up, you will know all."_

_Brandy shook her head still confused. "Please, I'm still so confused!" Her eyelids were becoming heavy as she fought the urge to lay down and sleep forever. "Will I not ever wake again?" She was now terrified as she didn't get an answer back. She could feel his smile and yet she was still oh so lost. The smell of the sea was starting to become acrid and intense. She choked and coughed as it filled her. She couldn't breathe! "W-why are you... doing this... to your faithful servant!?" Brandy pleaded but she wasn't granted an answer. All she could feel was a laugh and all went dark as she closed her eyes._  
_

"Optimus, the signal is abating. It's not stopping abrupt like the last time." Ratchet was making recordings of the event. "The pulse is lasting much longer than the ones before. If it's abating then something is different." Optimus stated. Their digits flew over the consoles as they worked to get every bit of information possible.

"Well I suppose we have our answer. Brandy IS transmitting a signal." Ratchet said feeling incredulous. The signal finally faded and there was nothing more to garner with the computers. They peered into the medical bay to see Brandy still sleeping soundly, breathing softly in the coolness.

"We'll have to analyze the data we recorded and perhaps get some answers." Optimus said as he pulled out a disc. Ratchet nodded and began to work.


	6. Chapter 6

**(I hope you've enjoyed this so far. Things are going slow but I wanted this to last! ^^ )**

_Memoirs_

When I was much younger, I lived in a world of great expectations. Being alive had so much to offer... the chance for me to bring out my own potential and help others bring out theirs. A chance to give smiles, and to bring the work of my hands to life for the betterment of all Cybertron. Cybertron... a world of beautiful cities, mysterious landscapes and crawling with life. My home. My world. A world that was surprisingly small for all the large inhabitants it kept. And then the wars started...

Cybertron was thrust into the throes of the Autobot and Decepticon war. A war that could have been easily thwarted if it were not for the purge of corrupted governmental figures. Instead of releasing their hold on their thrones of power, they sent those that would protect them out into the crowds to rally in their favor. Many joined them. Others did not. The world quickly split into two worlds. The dark empirical world of the Decepticons lead by the world renowned gladiator, Megatronus and a brighter world, but not always the brightest, the Autobot capital and stronghold.

The war took many lives, broke many bonds apart and shattered everything that had been built. The beautiful cities that covered the land had been demolished and made into war fronts, their inner workings made into a labryinth of the once was. Lost cities. The broken skeletons of old buildings that held families, places of gathering and business hung low and collapsed in on themselves. I was so sure that Primus himself wept when he saw his children fighting each other. I for one hated the war and would be no part of it.

My creators when they had finished my construction gave me the name Whipdance. I had the frame of my femme parent with small characteristics of my mech parent and a mix of both personalities. As a melding of both of them they kept me only one color which was silver and allowed me, if I wished, to change it as I saw fit but I never really felt I had to. I asked them why they made me only one color to start with and they both answered, "Because you are our silver star." It made me unique as most cybertronians were multicolored. I always thought that their colors were so vibrant and beautiful and it defined each who wore it. But that quickly went away as the wars proceeded. In Megatronus' faction, most people left their vibrant colors behind to change it to the colors of Decepticon. It saddened me to see them abandon their individuality and vibrance for something so sinister. Yet they believed in what they heard and gladly left it all behind for the chance of lasting unification and grandeur. I suppose I can understand that.

The Autobots kept their wonderful colors but they lost their vibrance in war. Colors faded, faith had been stomped on, sparks broken... in my mind I couldn't see the reasons why they would continue fighting, yet they did.

It eventually came that I lost my parents in the long war. They hadn't died in any crossfire or by any specific faction. It had come about that there were many renegades that scoured battle zones around the world. They were hungry most of the time. My parents had always kept a stock of rations and supplies should we ever need them in our place of dwelling. Some renegades had come and forcefully took what they had. In a vain effort to retain what they had left, they were killed and left behind for me to find.

Sorely tired of war, I wanted a place that I could call my own. I wanted a neutral land. I wanted my friends and family back but deep in my spark I knew I couldn't get it. I knew most of my friends were killed in the wars. Some even killed each other because they took different sides. Even with my friends, I didn't realize how many differences there were between them.

Life changed drastically for me from that point on. Just like the renegades, I scoured for sustenance and took it when it was available. I even stole from people so that I may be able to keep on moving. I watched battles from safe distances. Some lasted for groons. Others only kliks and I found I was always upset at the outcome. The victor would have to pick up their dead or leave them. Some of the dead were even re-used as transplants or sent to the smelting pool if the Decpticons won so their fight could continue.

The long slow war was devastating and I really didn't want to see any more of it. I wandered till I saw the sea of rust and I knew I couldn't go any further on my own. I was hungry, upset and so far doomed. In what felt like my last days I decided to take what I could find, make a structure and rust away in it. Then I made a small discovery. While I was building and depeleting myself I looked towards the south and saw what looked like a hole or cavern. I wandered to it, entered and fell in! I fell a long way until I finally crashed down at the bottom. No light was emitted and I had no idea how far I'd fallen. My optics grazed the darkness and brought little light to where I had crash landed. I wandered a bit until I saw something eerily blue. The closer I got to it the more I knew what it was. It was energon! I had fallen into an old energon deposit! I had read a long while back that the energon at the sea of rust had solidified due to evaporation but the deposit I had found was in no such state. A relief! I slept peacefully that night knowing I had some sense that I wouldn't starve any time soon.

Finding my way back out of the energon deposit wasn't as easy as falling into it but it quickly became an easy task as I continued to do it over and over again. It had become my safe haven. A small hole in the wall, literally, and no one else seemed to realize it was there. My little bit of Primus given heaven.

Life lessons had to be learned while I was on my own. Avoiding the radiation storms that pounded the Sea of Rust, refining volatile energon so I could safely eat it and remembering recipes my femme parent used to make for me and my mech parent. I often recalled his great smile and hearty laugh at coming home to his bond mate and sparkling child ready to try a new energon goodie that we had both made.

Oh how I miss them.

I stayed alone for the sake of not running into either of the factions who were always looking for a new energy source. The deposit was big but if it were to have been discovered, they would have depleted it in no more than a solar cycle.

One day I encountered a wandering mech. He looked battered and tired. He also bore a Decepticon decal which made me nervous at his first encounter. A tall and grand mech he was, bathed in the colors of the sun and opitcs as silver as the stars. He would have been hard to see if he had not been beaten so. I approached him carefully to see if he was alive. I couldn't necessarily hide from him as I reflected the light of the satellites in the sky. The Decepticon looked at me and begged for some energon.

As a precaution, I always kept a few small energon cubes hidden away on my person in case I ran into renegades. I didn't say anything to the mech, I righted him on the half rusted terrain, pulled out one of the cubes and pressed it against his lips. Knowing what it was, he opened his mouth and gladly took the sustenance. Once he was feeling better, a grateful smile crossed his face and he thanked me. I told the Decepticon that he shouldn't be on his own very long. Both factions were known to use this area to cross the sea. Not often, but they did go through there. The grateful smile he had left his lips and told me his sad story. He had lost his family in a battle, felt the spark of his bond mate being snuffed out and he was alone. Tired of war and bloodguilt, he left the decpticons after a recent conflict.

I was wary but I knew in my spark I couldn't leave him to be captured by either faction, so I took him into my new dwelling place. When I had gotten him in, he told me his name was Gigas. We began our lives together from that point on.

Days and weeks passed as we settled into our new lives. Gigas was better at refining the energon and I was better at preparing it for consumption. He was a master builder and I was only good at showing support while he worked. I made sure he was comfortable and he made sure I was safe. We had soon become best friends. The arrangement made us appear as bond mates but I was still wary of him from time to time. That wariness kept me getting closer than what I already was with the mech even though he had proven that he had no desire to return to the war front.

The energon deposit soon became a real home to us. We had food and shelter and a place to lay our helms. Gigas came up with the idea to set our actual residence near the opening of the cave and to kind of seal off the deposit so that if anyone were to come in they wouldn't spot it right away. It calmed us a bit but it wasn't ever truly enough. We grabbed as much sea rust we could and piled it everywhere we could inside the cavern and out making it look like it was a naturally occuring terrain. We prayed it would be enough.

The feeling of needing to stay alive coupled with the need to stay hidden constantly antagonized my inner workings. Cybertronians had for a long time the ability to scan for such deposits as the one we hid in and they definitely had the ability to determine two life forms resting in it's belly. Neither of us wanted to be captured for different reasons. Gigas had abandoned the Decepticon cause. I had aided him making me guilty by association. I told him that his decepticon marking was a dead giveaway so Gigas had to teach me how to rework his armor so I could take the decepticon decal off. He wouldn't be so easily discovered if he didn't bear any markings.

More weeks passed us by. The recieving radio always let us in on the aftermath of each battle. Not to be funny, but we always made bets on who would win those little excursions. Often times the Decepticons would win the smaller battles but a fair amount of the larger ones were won by the Autobots. Neither of us really knew which to root for... they both had their issues. I was in the middle of preparing some energon when I heard some very faint voices outside. I made sure to tell Gigas what was going on and we both made our way up to the entrance. A threat of radiation storm loomed over the sea and wouldn't abate for a long period of time. Any cybertronian would be looking for a place to ride it out. We observed two individuals searching for cover.

I asked Gigas if we should take a chance and let them in. He couldn't give an answer for sure. We both searched for any faction identification on their bodies but they were moving too fast for us to see. As we both leaned out to get a closer look, Gigas caught the glimmer of an autobot decal fused onto their armor. He mentioned this. We figured that the autobots would be less likely to report their location than any decepticon would. A decepticon would take any opportunity to gain status with the report of another energy source. With Gigas' help, we both came to the decision that we shouldn't let them be exposed to the radiation storm and motioned for them to come in.

Gigas and I stood close together as the two came in. We stood and stared at each other for a long while before any of us had made a move. Gigas was frowning deeply and my face looked worried. The two autobots shared a look of relief and wariness. I finally spoke to them starting with a 'hello'. An exchange of words allowed us to calm down and relax. This was a turning point for us in our little hideaway as many more autobots and decepticons alike came for unintended visits. As they continued to visit, I made sure that they all recognized that this was neither an autobot or decepticon stronghold and any provisions we shared were for those who passed through. Gigas and I wound up with a crowd of renegades and runaways that had no place to go.

Loveless was a femme bot who had lost her bond mate and children early in the war. Loveless wasn't necessarily her real name, she adopted it after her loss. When she came to us, she quickly took to Gigas becoming his love interest.

Steelbot was a small, deck gray bot who loved to tinker. He had our receivers and transmitters up and running before we knew it, but we made sure that he turned all transmissions off so we couldn't be discovered so easily. Steel was once an Autobot who ran away after seeing his best friend die in front of him. The memory haunted him every night in his dreams.

Techtick was a tall slender bot who knew how everything worked. He and Steelbot would often times come up with new ways to place and install systems that would make our hideout a better place to stay. Techtick was a renegade who opted to take what he needed before he had joined us. He developed a hard personality despite his friendly face and took a while for us to get anywhere close to him.

The last to really join us and remain was House. He was a very old bot who had willingly armed himself to join the Autobot cause. A massive bot he was, very wide and tall. He looked as if he could carry ten cybertronians within him. It's how he got his name, he told us. He had believed in the conglomerates and councils that governed our lives, however, he felt betrayed after they constantly failed him over and over again. He was full of stories, both of peace and war and he was often very captivating when he spoke. Just like I loved making energon goodies for my mech parent, I loved making them for House. He was always willing to taste test my latest work.

Our neutral ground was eventually noticed by the leaders of the factions and sub-factions of each side. The day had actually come when they approached us to talk about our future. At the time, Zeta Prime was leading the autobots in every assault against the decepticons and he was the first to come to our happy little dwelling and try to convince us to let our hard work come to the hands of the autobots as a small base but I told him no. Gigas was right behind me stating what we had earlier intended and that was for our home to be a neutral area. We wanted to be left alone. He put up a good fight but our answer was still no.

Megatron approached us with the same offer but we told him no as well. We knew Megatron was more easily upset than his autobot opposition so we let him go with the knowledge that our home was open to anyone who needed to get away and be at peace for a while. I had lied about our resources and told him we acquire our supplies from an older known deposit further to the west. I don't know if he believed it or not, but it was enough to make him go and let us be at peace. Gigas told me that was a bit off a ballsy move but I didn't want anyone but those of us who lived there to know about the deposit down below. I'd be damned if I let either side try and take over because I revealed what I was covering up...

**(More to come!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(Very short entry.)**

Brandy snored softly as she dozed on the big cybertronian medical bed. It was hard and of course as she complained about it earlier, cold. With the linen sheet that Bee had found, she was wrapped up and feeling cozy. She would now and then wake up from a bad dream and then doze back off again to be awoken from yet another awful dream. Sleep had no trouble finding her, but she had a hard time keeping herself asleep.

Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Arcee and Bulkhead were tending to various duties inside of base and outside. They always had to make sure that the area was clear of any sneaking Decepticons.

Optimus and Ratchet went over the data they had accumulated from scans taken from the small human in the medical bay. Scans had produced no explanation to the phenomena experienced before but after Brandy had gone to sleep is when it became clear her dreams were causing the commotion.

Optimus took a break from looking at the data and impressed upon Ratchet that he either needed to take in some energon or recharge for a while. They seemed to need the much needed break.

"Take about an hour, Ratchet. This information is overwhelming at best and I really need you at peak performance." Optimus said softly, patting his oldest companion on the shoulder.

"I'll do that Optimus. I'll be right back." Ratchet mumbled and walked off to their small supply of energon cubes. Optimus watched him go. He looked him over and noticed that despite his age, he looked pretty good for an old bot.

Taking advantage of the alone time, Optimus went back to the console housing the hacking program they managed to infect the Nemesis with. He hadn't worked on it in a while and frowned inwardly at his lack of maintaining such an important part of his duties.

He noticed that there was nothing new regarding cybertronian relics and slumped in relief. The decepticons were no closer to finding what they were looking for and Optimus was content with that being the case. He also found, to an even further relief, that the pulse Brandy had produced did not make it past the confines of the base. Optimus let himself slump a bit further. He was hoping  
he wasn't getting too lazy or complacent with how he let things proceed. Continuing on with his search around the Nemesis database, he found the file that Shockwave send to Soundwave and opened it. All the file contained was a cybertronian heart beat. It pulsed erratically then rhthymically. Its erraticness made it unique. Optimus soon found himself transic to it's continuous melody.

"Optimus?" Ratchet regarded his superior with concern. "Are you all right?"

Optimus looked at Ratchet, "I was looking through the Nemesis database to ensure that while things got exciting in here, it wasn't as exciting outside."

Ratchet cocked his helm to the side, "Are we good?"

Optimus nodded, "Yes, it seems the base prevented the pulse from seeping outside. There were also no relic discoveries while we conducted our business earlier."

The old bot sighed and grinned, "We're lucky I suppose." He turned his attention to the file that Optimus was previously viewing. "What is that?"

Optimus turned his helm back to the soothing heart beat. "I discovered this as I was looking through the files. This is something Shockwave sent Soundwave." Optimus pointed at the file.

"That's a life signature." Ratchet said. "It's in a format we use to determine the location of all Autobots as well as track Decepticons." He looked at the wave and squinted his optics at it. "I'm going to go out on an appendage here and assume they've been researching Brandy's pulse. It seems that Shockwave was able to determine a life signature embeded in it." Ratchet pursed his lips continuing to squint at the display.

"So what can this mean? It came from a human and we already know that fleshlings such as they are not physically capable of making a transmission, much less give off a life signature."

Optimus questioned. He tapped a digit on his helm in wonder.

"What I want to know is who that signature belongs to." Ratchet stated. Optimus tapped the console keys to bring up any reference files that Soundwave or Shockwave might have added. There was a search file of all cybertronians alive in the last four millenia but it had been aborted. Following that was a recorded file created by Soundwave himself.

The file was opened and the two watched the video recording in silence. The image of Zeta Prime facing off with Megatron brought back some sour memories for both the bots. Ratchet sighed through his intake and Optimus remained silent still. Part of him knew Zeta could of been a great prime, but the other parts of him knew that what he did was wrong and he was glad he was gone.

"Megatron and Zeta sure knew how to toss words at each other, didn't they?" Ratchet snorked and folded his arms. Optimus rumbled in agreement. The video proceeded further until Ratchet quickly asked Optimus to pause the video. "Primus! Is that who I think it is?!" He exclaimed. Optimus knew that form well enough to confirm Ratchet's memory, "That's Whipdance."

Optimus stole a quick glance at his chief medical officer and found him rigid and unable to tear his optics away from the screen. "Optimus... if I am correct, this is Whipdance's last stand. She practically became a legend after this." Ratchet met Optimus' gaze and frowned. "She was foolish to do what she did." he finished. He looked as if he were recalling sensitive memories.

The massive leader decided at that point to turn off the video to help his old friend save face. "I'm sorry, Optimus. I shouldn't get so worked up." Ratchet let out a pained sigh.

"Was she close to you?" Optimus couldn't stop the words from escaping his lips. He grimaced slightly as Ratchet peered up at him, his optics giving away the answer. "Bond mate?" Another bout of word vomit. Ratchet shook his head 'no' much to Optimus' surprise.

"If you'll give me a chance later, Optimus, I'll tell you all about it." Ratchet managed to rework his face so that he looked to be back to his old self. It wasn't often the leader of the Autobots got to catch such a side of his normally bitter medical officer. "I believe though", he paused, "that the life signature we're looking for resides in this crowd of autobots and decepticons."

Optimus agreed, "I'll get to work on that. I want you to take some time. Go out on some old fashioned patrol. I think it will help clear your processor a bit."

Ratchet couldn't argue. He turned and made his way to the base exit and transformed, rolled out.

As the Nemesis made her way through the Amercian mid-west towards Jasper, speculation and rumors flew through the ship at alarming speeds about a very dead femme. Megatron had earlier demanded such talk be kept to a minimum and if he heard any decepticon chatting about Whipdance, he'd personally remove their appendages.

Soundwave was certain that Megatron believed her to be alive but he didn't want to have any sort of hope. He'd know for sure once they reached Jasper. Soundwave silently gave his final report to Megatron who acknowledged with a grunt. That was Soundwave's queue to leave the bridge and head for his quarters.

As he marched down the passage ways to his silent sanctuary, he encountered the doc doing his rounds and contemplating leaving the skin of the ship. The sight of Soundwave made the cassanova smirk. He'd heard too many rumors to let an opportunity like this pass him by and he wanted to hear all from the horses mouth, per say.

"Ooooh, Soundwave you have to tell me that it's true." The smirk, Soundwave observed, must be lodged on his face with a powerful adhesive. Soundwave continued walking and ignoring the good doctor. Knockout wasn't willing to let him go so easily, "Ugh! Soundwave, I'm asking you a question!" He ran ahead of Soundwave and stopped him by placing two servos on his shoulders, "Tell me that big breasted beauty is alive again!" Knockout demanded. Soundwave curled his uppper lip behind his visor. He hated Knockout and hearing him talk about Whipdance in such a manner made the urge to make fist/face contact almost overwhelming.

He silently slid past the small 'con and made his way across the passage way, escaping Knockout's plead for confirmation. The further he went, the more he could drown out the annoying doctors' libido.

Knockout watched him go. There was no way he could get such classified information from Soundwave. He knew Soundwave and Whipdance had a bit of history towards the end of her life, but that didn't stop the good doctor from interfering whenever he could. He worked his way back to the medical bay when he was struck with all the moments he spent alone with Whipdance. He figured that it would be a better idea to head to his quarters instead of letting himself get worked up and chance someone needing to come in for some tiny problem while his need ached down  
below.

The route to his quarters seemed to extend forever. He rushed without seeming like he was rushing, entered the space and locked the door. He felt his rod running along the panel covering and he quickly ripped it off allowing it to hang free and erect itself fully. He bit his glossa as he moved his servo down and wrapped it around his pulsing rod. He let his mind wander to the beautiful femmes he encountered and made love to. He remembered how smooth and hot they were to the touch, how they wrapped every inch of themselves around him and reciprocated his want. He  
would remember how he dominated them, making them beg and plead with every thrust and their screams of climax. He ran his servo up and down his rod as he continued to recall the feeling of first penetration and the ecstasy that followed. He pumped into his hand as he felt a wave build up and jerked his servos faster until he released onto the deck of the Nemesis.

Sighing with relief, he leaned himself against a bulkhead and huffed feeling gratified. He looked down at himself hanging loose, smirking that the mere memory of a femme could make him lose control.

"Ah Whipdance... perhaps one day I'll make you understand just what you do to me." He said to no one.

*********************************  
Megatron silently observed his underlings and listened to all the rumors that left their lips. He didn't say much to quell the talk. He usually never had to. A simple look to them would be enough to stop the flapping yaps.

The course to Jasper was taking it's time and it was starting to wreak havoc on Megatrons' circuits. If he had to stand there and listen to idle chatter about her one more time he was going to shoot some appendages off of bodies.

He looked to his navigation officer, "How much time till we arrive at our destination?" Megatron's sinister glare quickly got him his answer, "Approximately 3 hours, Lord Megatron."

The Decepticon leader sighed inwardly. "Three hours. I suppose I'll take the time to arrange proper accomodations for our old friend." This caught the interest of almost every decepticon on the bridge. Some even stopped to look at their lord. HE would make accomodations? Megatron took notice of the stares.

"I'll let you all understand something right now. The history of our war doesn't make known the names of many cybertronians. We know about beings like Primus, the original thirteen, the Primes and, of course, myself." He grinned wickedly. "However the person we pursue is not an enemy, nor an ally. She has no desire for power and grandeur which is what most of you joined my cause for." Megatron paused and looked at his crew, "Don't lie." His grin lasted.

"Whipdance stood between all of us in a war and made herself a legend. I knew all that she was capable of. Weak in a fight but a being of great destructive power if she felt threatened. I want her here. I want her lean towards our cause in this long war. She can help us attain our ultimate goal so we can finally rebuild our great empire!" Megatron closed his eyes and the grin on his face softened. "Ahh a wonderful chance." His red eyes opened threateningly, "If she were to come on board and hear all these ridiculous rumors you have started, she will not want to remain. I will personally kill anyone who would so much as put a dent in my plans. They will suffer as Starscream did. If you do not heed my warnings, beware."

Megatron made his way off the bridge leaving all those who remained with the promise of excruciating punishment if they were to slip even once. They know that if Megatron wouldn't catch them saying anything, Soundwave sure as hell would.


	8. Chapter 8

**Very short chapter! Sorry it's been a while.**

Brandy flopped a few times, tangling herself within the linen sheet. A few more flops and finally she woke up groggy with her long curls a matted mess atop and around her head. She paused a few moments remembering where she was and what she was in the medical bay for. "Oh yeah... that's right."

She felt around for her glasses and placed them on her face. The lenses were starting to accumulate scratches and she couldn't help but notice them when she wore them. They created little circular blobs that skewed her vision when she looked towards anything that had light spilling out of it. Staring up at the lights in the fridgid medical bay was making it obvious she needed to visit the local eye doctor.

She decided she couldn't lay down anymore on the hard surface, got up and stretched. A few squeaks escaped her lips as she took her time. Her short body stretched to it's ultimate length while she did her morning ritual, a short 5'2" to maybe an extra half inch. Optimus entered the bay to see how she was doing and with a smile, Brandy relayed that she was fine. Kind of stiff from the lack of cushioning on the bed, but fine nonetheless.

"I have to appologize for Ratchet's behaviour earlier." He stated as he turned and leaned on the bed. Brandy quirked a brow. She knew of leaders appologizing for their subordinates' actions in foreign lands but it didn't dawn on her that such an action would apply with robot aliens. "That's all on Ratchet, Optimus. You shouldn't have to say sorry for him." Brandy patted his servo reassuringly.

"The war has taken it's toll on all of us. Ratchet has undergone many hardships. It's made him... agitated." Optimus explained. Brandy smiled and chuckled, "Don't worry about it. When he learns to take a chill pill and let me do what I need to do, then all will be fine and dandy."

Optimus gazed down at her, "What does "dandy" mean?"

Optimus' optics brought out the scratch "blobs" on Brandy's glasses as she looked in his face, "It means good or well." She stood up and walked to the edge where they were she could observe just how high she was from the floor. "Er... could you perhaps put me down on the floor?"

Optimus held out a servo which she gladly hopped into, and he set her down where she wanted to be. She practically kissed the floor. "I had a dream that I had fallen off your little "berth" there and broke my glasses..." Optimus couldn't help but play a version of that in his mind, "Wouldn't -you- also break from a fall that high?"

Brandy wrinkled her face in thought, "Yyyeah but it was a dream so only the things that I take for granted get destroyed. It's amazing how much you don't think about the things we use everyday until it's taken away. Then we are just miserable." She grinned hoping anything to get a smile on the Autobot leader's face would be worthwhile, yet he didn't smile. He just continued on with the same stoic look painted on his helm.

The time passed in the old missle silo. Optimus was silent most of the time, the other autobots came and went and Ratchet was still out on patrol. The kids were at school and there was nothing to do. Watching Optimus was all the entertainment available. Sure Brandy could have turned on the T.V. but in all honesty, she did not want to interrupt the large being. Questions brewed in her mind about the Autobot leader himself, about the things that happened last night, whether they found anything and if she was in any sort of danger. To sate her mind she decides to try and talk to Optimus some more regarding such questions.

"Hey, did you ever have a lover, Optimus?" The sudden question made the giant stop abruptly and look Brandy's way. His usual stoic demeanor wasn't present, "As a prime, I am not allowed to indulge in such matters."

Brandy's brows shot to her hairline, "Wha? You mean to tell me that a Prime cannot have a lover or even BE in love with someone?" Her mouth fell open feeling a bit repulsed at the rule. Optimus nodded. "That is straight up ridiculous!"

"As a Prime, I require all my focus to ensure the survival of my comrades in arms." Optimus rounded. Brandy grunted, "I'm sure there have been times when you met someone that you liked... what about BEFORE you became a prime?"

Optimus was silent but his optics danced with thought. "You DID have someone, didn't you?" She grinned imagining the autobot leader in a romantic relationship, then a thought occured to her, "...Was it Arcee?" A quick "No!" rumbled from the massive autobot. Brandy cracked up, "I'm sorry... she's the only autobot I know that could... you know, fit the bill."

He understood what she meant but he couldn't even begin to imagine a romantic life with Arcee. There was too much at stake, and if there were the chance of such a relationship, if they were to break up, it'd be hard to give commands to someone who could harbor potential animosity. "If we were to ever be together, it'd make things difficult. Missions wouldn't be done properly as I'd always be thinking about whether she was okay or whether I had the gears to send her on a dangerous mission." He explained. Brandy understood what he was saying, "So it's kinda like being in our military. Fraternization comes in many shapes and forms and it could look like favoritism. I get it. However, if your war ever comes to an end, are you still going to be a loveless prime or will you be able to love someone by that time?"

It was something he hadn't thought about. Would he be able to have a lover when the war ended? There was always a chance. "What brought that question about?" He asked her. Brandy shrugged, "There's so few of you left. I'd think that, even as a leader, you'd have to take charge of getting your race back on it's feet. That includes reproduction, does it not?" She reasoned. It was another thing that Optimus had decided to leave for when the time actually came that he'd have to face it head on. "Unfortunately, we cannot tackle such an issue until we either defeat the Decepticons or achieve some kind of peace."

Brandy shifted, "Well... perhaps it -can- be thought about right now." It was Optimus' turn to rais a brow, "Why?" Brandy drummed her fingers, "Because I'm willing to bet that once something has been declared and any sort of animosity has been lifted between both your factions, emotions are gonna run high. Rebuilding your world will come second to creating life." She paused. "I'm just adding more to the plate, aren't I?" Optimus let out a slight, "Mm" as a response.

"I'll shut up now. I'll... watch T.V. or something." Brandy went over to the television and turned it on and began to mechanically flip through channels. Optimus went back to his work. He tapped buttons, closed windows, reopened windows but his mind was now reeling with more issues than ever before. Leave it to a human to bring out such things.

Brandy had settled on a soap opera. Bored out of her mind, she watched the fictitious problems of people linked with other people upon other people who wound up back to the first people. This one particular woman would not. stop. crying. "I'm glad my life is so complicated that I don't have room for shit like this..." She was starting to glaze over. She wasn't sitting on the couch but more like slowly sliding off of it as the show went on. The more the crying woman on the tv was present, the further she sank.

It wasn't long before she had dozed off.

_"Why are you all the way out here?" She asked him. He didn't -look- like a Decepticon... didn't have their colors except for the markings. He actually looked like he could be the same color as the suns in the sky..._

_The massive gold and yellow mech sat on the rusty terrain, saddened, beat and alone. "I'm sick of this war. I'm sick of losing everything. I already told you I have nothing left." He took the small bit of energon she had given him and indulged in the rest. The small bit of sustenance looked to bring him back to life._

_She circled around him gazing at his dulled yet vibrant color. He watched her, curious as to what she would do. He couldn't help but gaze at her strong femme shape and monochromatic color of silver. "You got a name?" She asked him and a weak smile crossed his lips. "Yeah. I am called Gigas. I suppose I fit the name well." He indicated to himself and stood up. At his full height, she was noticeably smaller than he, coming only to the bottom of his chest plate. He'd be intimidating, even scary, if she didn't know he was in such a weak state. He looked down to her, "I gave you my name, what's yours?"_

_She brought her white optics up to meet his emerald, "I am called Wh-"..._

Brandy awoke from the dream startled by the screeching wheels of Ratchet's alt mode.

"Optimus! The Nemesis has appeared, I think they've found our base!" Ratchet shouted. He quickly transformed back to his original state and ran to the consoles.

"Get everyone here and then quickly, we need to leave. I will stay behind and make sure everyone gets out through the ground bridge!" Optimus commanded. Only a minute passed as everyone had been gathered and in pairs they left the Autobot base. Brandy quickly grabbed Optimus' attention.

"I want you to send me somewhere alone."

Optimus told her no and that it wouldn't be possible for her to remain on her own, but she had her reasons, "I don't want to be caught with one of your comrades. There are too few of you to lose just one. Send me somewhere alone so in case I get caught by these guys, it will be just me and no one else." The time they had to talk about this was running short. "Please, Optimus."

With a flick of his wrist he gave in and sent her back where she started, the East Coast of the US.

The whole world was in an uproar. With Megatron's citadel standing tall above the ruins of the autobot base, the threats and promises made by the decepticon leader if his demands weren't met made life nothing short of terrifying. Brandy watched it on television and kept her ears to every update that was broadcast. The world was seemingly smaller than it was before. Decepticons were everywhere, scanning and demanding and she knew that they were looking for her. They wouldn't rest until they had their massive metallic hands on her body. The innermost pits of her being was determined that she would never be caught alive if she could help it.

An old dilapidated building became her place of residence. It was a place that still had people using it but she didn't want to be noticed, so she slipped under everyone and made her home in an unused part of the basement. It was nice compared to a lot of other places. She could get in from the outside, had a nice view of the moon and stars through the slim windows that donned the upper portion of the walls and no one seemed to notice her being there. Her only problem was getting places. She would remain until she felt she was clear to go from one point to another which was usually at night but often times she wouldn't go out at all. In her massive one room floor, she adorned the space with an old Zenith televeision set, a used couch that she had found from one end of the building and a small fridge.

The nights were warm and muggy and she could smell water threatening to fall from the sky.

"Mmmmn... smells like rain." A quick look out of a peephole in a blacked out window confirmed her forecast. She brought a slender hand and ran it through her long brown curls and heaved a hopeless sigh. "I'm tired... but I don't want to go to sleep." The couch wasn't very inviting... in fact she never truly believed that something a bunch of potential dirtbags placed their behinds on wouldn't be a very nice place to lay your head but what could she do? "I need to go shopping anyway."

There were often things she had to watch for when she left her hideout, like robots in disguise (haha), but there were times she needed go and buy food and water. She was usually successful in not attracting attention. Just an average person going to an average store to get average things in an average way. Sticking to the walk ways that had less traffic was her method of not being spotted and going to stores that didn't have many people in them seemed to be a good idea. After grabbing her much needed items and a hop, skip and jump back to her lair, she settled and turned the television on. There wasn't much happening in the world of entertainment except for the news' consistent repeating of Megatron's demands. They kept on repeating them... the words even scrolled across the bottom of the screen as well as how much his demands affected stocks and exchange. Brandy smirked thinking how stupid people tended to be about their money in crisis... they could throw all the green that they wanted at people or even machine and it still wouldn't get them very far. If anything, they'd be made an example of. How helpless they truly are under the might of someone much, much stronger than they were. A smirk crossed her lips.

Time seemed to go slowly while she camped. No one to talk to except the continuous ramblings of paranoia that coursed through her mind, nothing to do except watch the old television set with nothing entertaining than the news of the Decepticons and at the lowest sound setting possible. Didn't dare want to give anyone an idea that she was down there living rent free.

As the day came to a close, the room in which Brandy sat in became darker and darker. The soft illumination from the television set gave her whatever light she needed during the nighttime hours. A can of tuna and a box of crackers was the snack of the night with a small can of sprite to wash it down. The combination made her think of her father and how he usually had this exact meal for lunch every day at work. A small smile fashioned itself on her lips at the thought of her father reaching for the hot sauce because cramming plain tuna down his throat was enough to make him throw up.

The television screen shifted in color and a vibrant splash of "Breaking News" flashed on the screen. Brandy's eyebrows shot up expecting to see another report of Decepticons damaging the economy but alas, this was different. She turned up the volume to hear the news anchor.

"-a new demand from the ruler of the Decepticons has many people frantically searching for the person in question." Brandy suddenly felt a wave of dread and terror bounce from one end of her body to the other as the news cast had her picture on display. The can of tuna summarily dropped to the floor, "Oh... oh God!" She stood up and began walking in circles, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. A wave of nausea decided to join the terror party that danced on her stomach and she quickly stepped into a small working toilet and heaved.

"I don't know how many people saw me today!" If someone knew where she was, she was destined to be caught and there was no way for her to get out in time.


End file.
